Keith, In four or five years' time, if not before then, the average Greek will be scratching his head in wonder that his country ever entered the Eurozone in the first place.
Me Maybe by that time they will be in the Yuan zone. From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Keith Hudson Sent: Friday, November 04, 2011 5:30 AM To: RE-DESIGNING WORK, INCOME DISTRIBUTION, , EDUCATION Subject: [Futurework] Grecian wonder I can see no hope for Greece now. Even if Mr Papandreou manages to form a Coalition government later today and get a vote of confidence, I cannot see how the majority of Greek people are going to accept many more years of even more austerity than they have already suffered. It's no use saying that the Eurozone has been pampering them for many years and they must now buckle down and get used to reality. When it comes to human emotions, there are no absolutes. It's all relativity. As Krushchev once said when he'd retired from being the President of Russia: "It's easy to govern starving peasants. But once they have food in their bellies then it's another matter." Two years ago, most Greeks had already gained as high a standard of life as most Germans, French, Italians, etc. It's already declined, and even this part-way step has produced a country that's barely governable. Any more attempts at austerity, then daily riots and national strikes every few weeks will produce a revolutionary situation. Or, rather, not so much revolutionary (because there is no conceivable alternative in sight) but total breakdown. At an intuitive level that ordinary Greeks probably understand, even though they can't articulate, they know they face a choice of more austerity for at least 10 years in the Eurozone or yet even more austerity for a only a couple of years or so if it, like Argentina in 2000, it decides to default. In the latter case, it could leave the Eurozone, restore the drachma, and regain the self-respect and cultural independence which the bureaucrats of Brussels took away from them years ago. I can see no other immediate future for Greece, even if it has to have a draconian government -- maybe even with military backing -- for a few years. China will help. It is already building massive port facilities at Piraeus and won't want to see these held up. Furthermore, Greece could immediately start offering wonderful holidays to tens of millions of the Chinese middle-class whom the Chinese government is already encouraging to spend more. In four or five years' time, if not before then, the average Greek will be scratching his head in wonder that his country ever entered the Eurozone in the first place. Keith Keith Hudson, Saltford, England http://allisstatus.wordpress.com/2011/10/
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